5 ms·

I am Indian living in England, and I'm not sure how I feel about this. In some ways, yes, Gandhi is to be to revered, however in others, he should perhaps be re

by osrec 6y ago

I am Indian living in England, and I'm not sure how I feel about this. In some ways, yes, Gandhi is to be to revered, however in others, he should perhaps be reviled. For example, he would share his bed with naked nubile girls to "test" his celibacy. Not just girls, but his own grandnieces. Am I the only one that finds that extremely unsettling? Makes me wonder if he was in fact the great man he is made out to be. Perhaps the political magnetism he possessed meant that politicians absolved him of all his sins, attributing them to mere eccentricities, in order to take advantage of his popularity.

dragonsh 6y ago
It will be nice If you read bit more and learn, instead of many myths floating around especially from the camp of right wing Hindu nationalist, who killed him and running a sustained campaign to malign his image to boost themselves.
- yostrovs 6y ago
  But it is true. As were his racist views. And many other unsavory facts that are better not explained to an audience looking for demigods. How about you read about those? https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/richard-grenier/the-gandhi-nobody-knows/ https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/richard-grenier/...
  - dragonsh 6y ago
    Not all myths are true and most are twisted to support right wing myths. Gandhi in his early 20’s has prejudice against Africans, and his greatness lie in reinventing himself to overcome those prejudice. Indeed it’s one of the most difficult to transform oneself and that’s what he precisely did again and again. Four aspects of Gandhi's legacy remain relevant, not just to India, but to the world. 1. First, non-violent resistance to unjust laws and/or authoritarian governments. 2. Second, the promotion of inter-faith understanding and religious tolerance. 3. Third, an economic model that does not rape or pillage nature. 4. Fourth, courtesy in public debate and transparency in one's public dealings. If you want you can read Ramchandra Guha’s work [1], who wrote about his racist views and transformation. Also one another anecdote: In 1962, when British filmmaker Richard Attenborough began researching what would become his 1982 Gandhi film, he asked Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, how he should portray his late colleague. Nehru famously replied that Gandhi was "a great man, but he had his weaknesses, his moods and his failings." He begged Attenborough not to turn Gandhi into a saint. He was "much too human," Nehru said. Martin Luther King [2] who stayed with his wife at Gandhi’s room in spite of being booked a room in hotel. He went on a path of non violent civil rights movement with inspiration from Gandhi and his ideology of non-violence. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/gandhi-1914-1948-ramachandra-guha-review https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/gandhi-1914-19... [2] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/my-trip-land-gandhi https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/my-...
- osrec 6y ago
  I was brought up being told that Gandhi was great. I read a bit, and thus formed my current opinion. What more do you want from me?
  - sifar 6y ago
    Not to judge somebody who is long gone, but to learn from their lives, their beliefs, their failings and their way of seeing things. Far too often, we spend a lot of time judging people of the past, forgetting how the future will judge us. Let go of the need to judge others, learn what you can from their lives, try to live yours with balance and pass it on.

by osrec 6y ago

dragonsh 6y ago

It will be nice If you read bit more and learn, instead of many myths floating around especially from the camp of right wing Hindu nationalist, who killed him and running a sustained campaign to malign his image to boost themselves.

yostrovs 6y ago
But it is true. As were his racist views. And many other unsavory facts that are better not explained to an audience looking for demigods. How about you read about those? https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/richard-grenier/the-gandhi-nobody-knows/ https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/richard-grenier/...
- dragonsh 6y ago
  Not all myths are true and most are twisted to support right wing myths. Gandhi in his early 20’s has prejudice against Africans, and his greatness lie in reinventing himself to overcome those prejudice. Indeed it’s one of the most difficult to transform oneself and that’s what he precisely did again and again. Four aspects of Gandhi's legacy remain relevant, not just to India, but to the world. 1. First, non-violent resistance to unjust laws and/or authoritarian governments. 2. Second, the promotion of inter-faith understanding and religious tolerance. 3. Third, an economic model that does not rape or pillage nature. 4. Fourth, courtesy in public debate and transparency in one's public dealings. If you want you can read Ramchandra Guha’s work [1], who wrote about his racist views and transformation. Also one another anecdote: In 1962, when British filmmaker Richard Attenborough began researching what would become his 1982 Gandhi film, he asked Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, how he should portray his late colleague. Nehru famously replied that Gandhi was "a great man, but he had his weaknesses, his moods and his failings." He begged Attenborough not to turn Gandhi into a saint. He was "much too human," Nehru said. Martin Luther King [2] who stayed with his wife at Gandhi’s room in spite of being booked a room in hotel. He went on a path of non violent civil rights movement with inspiration from Gandhi and his ideology of non-violence. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/gandhi-1914-1948-ramachandra-guha-review https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/04/gandhi-1914-19... [2] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/my-trip-land-gandhi https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/my-...
osrec 6y ago
I was brought up being told that Gandhi was great. I read a bit, and thus formed my current opinion. What more do you want from me?
- sifar 6y ago
  Not to judge somebody who is long gone, but to learn from their lives, their beliefs, their failings and their way of seeing things. Far too often, we spend a lot of time judging people of the past, forgetting how the future will judge us. Let go of the need to judge others, learn what you can from their lives, try to live yours with balance and pass it on.